Finish-carpenter Brian Campbell wanted to keep his tools
organized in his work trailer and still be able to transport
the occasional full load of cabinets. He took his cue from a
slat-wall system, where shelves, brackets, and hangers can be
freely inserted behind horizontal slats without
fasteners.
Although ordinary hardware brackets would serve as well, the
decorative haunched braces supporting Campbell’s shelves
also showcase his woodworking skills (1). Made
from 2-by framing lumber, the braces are assembled with lag
screws from the back (2). The shelves securely
engage the cargo rails by means of 20-inch-long cleats, four
per shelf, screwed to the underside of the shelf
(3). Doubled cargo rails are grooved to
receive slat-wall accessories (4).
1.
2.3.
4.5.
6.
The shelves are drilled with system holes registered from the
shelf of an old commercial display unit (5).
That unit also supplied the wire shelf dividers used to sort
and contain the tool boxes and bins (6).
Unloaded, the shelves simply lift out to make room for bulk
cargo. — Dave Holbrook